Growth of uniform ZnO nanoparticles by a microwave plasma process

ZnO nanoparticle coatings with a controlled size distribution have been grown on quartz substrates by a novel microwave plasma assisted spray (MPAS) technique. This study presents the analysis of structure, photoluminescence, and magnetic properties of particle coatings with two distinctly different mean particle sizes (400 nm and 200 nm). X-ray diffraction patterns show a typical wurtzite structure without any impurity phases for the nanoparticle coatings. SEM and TEM investigations have shown the grown nanoparticles to be spherical and well separated with a narrow size distribution. Nanoparticles are polycrystalline with smaller grain sizes associated with the smaller particle sizes. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra reveal the presence of oxygen vacancy related defects in the 400 nm nanoparticles, which become less pronounced in the 200 nm nanoparticles. The 400 nm nanoparticles are found to exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism with a clear hysteretic behavior, while the 200 nm nanoparticles are diamagnetic even down to 10 K. These results suggest the oxygen vacancies were the cause for defect-induced ferromagnetism in the 400 nm nanoparticles.

► Size controlled ZnO nanoparticles were grown by a microwave plasma spray technique.
► Polycrystalline nanoparticles had smaller crystalline grains within outer size.
► Photoluminescence spectra showed larger size induced defects changed the spectra.
► Large nanoparticles were ferromagnetic while small nanoparticles were diamagnetic.
► Defects in ZnO nanoparticles were correlated with both photoluminescence and magnetism.